Tag Archives: history

Nuremberg

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Short drive today to Nuremberg. Uneventful for the most part, though we were mightily amused by this road sign telling drivers to slow down to 120 kmph for roadworks… for serious, it was needed though. We were in a 130 zone on the autobahn and doing roughly the speed limit with people whizzing past us like we were standing still. I don’t know how there aren’t more accidents here… but I bet when they do connect it’s horrific.

Given Europe’s typical Mondayitis, there were quite a few places that were not open today, but thankfully the well famous Nuremberg Castle wasn’t closed. Also known as the Nürnberger Burg, the castle is actually a large complex of medieval fortified buildings built on a ridge that overlooks the historical Altstadt of Nuremberg. Well located in Bavaria, the castle and its formidable city walls are considered one of Europe’s most impregnable fortified castles. The whole place was designed to represent the power and influence on the Holy Roman Empire and the distinctive role the Imperial City of Nuremberg held.

The main entrance (above) isn’t that much to look at, but as soon as you make your way into the castle walls, the extent and size of the fortress becomes apparent.

The construction of the castle was originally started around 1000, and after that there were three main periods of expansion that can be seen. 1) the main castle built under the Salian kings and respective Holy Roman Emperors front he period of about 1027-1125, 2) a newer castle section that was built under the Hohenstaufen Emperors from 1138-1254 and the reconstructed areas of the castle that became more palace in the later medieval period.

In the Middle Ages, the city of Nuremberg was one of the larges and organised municipalities in all of Europe, and was at various periods the Imperial Capital.

I could not get over the sky today – the clouds just looked absolutely surreal, and the sky so blue, I thought we were in the tropics.

The stunning panorama from the ramparts of the castle looking over the medieval city of Nuremberg.

Inner courtyard of the main keep… the buildings are so beautiful and we were fortunately not swamped with people when we arrived that I went a little nuts with the photos…

The building on the left here has been converted into a super modern cafe, but thankfully on the outside, it is still in keeping with its medieval location.

Even the museum entrance/exit and gift shop are well hidden.

Views over the city through old glass windows.

Doorway from the palace hall to the private imperial chapel.

A strongbox… sadly without a description plaque.

The private imperial chapel – there is a large hole in the floor, and another hall below where commoners could come to hear services without interacting with the castle’s more elevated inhabitants! This double chapel saw daily masses since 1216. The Emperor’s, (top part of the) chapel was likely only used when the emperor/king was in residence and was only accessible through the upper hallways of the ruler’s chambers.

Stone relics ‘The Resurrection of Christ’ and ‘The Ascension of Mary’, Augsburg, c.1530.

The side altar of the Emperor Frederick III. Figures from the shrine are (left to right) Charlamagne, St Henry, St Kunigunde, St Helena of Nuremberg, c.1487/.

Figures below are wings from a larger, now lost, altarpiece, c.1401.

Mother of God, Nuremberg, c.1450-1460… this is one of a small collection of Nuremberg Madonna’s that are characterised by being life-sized and close to resembling natural people.

These frescos are believed to have been installed prior to a visit from Charles V, King of Spain who was crowned King in 1520 and referred to himself as the ‘Chosen Roman Emperor’.
Frescoes attributed to Hans Weiditz, Augsburg, c.1519.

Looking down from the Emperor’s Chapel at the multi-layered chapel for the masses.

Relief of Emperor Ludwig IV the Bavarian, from the Nuremberg Town Hall, c.1340, cast after a model in Munich… sigh. Hate this shit : a lot of the info I’m saving is acquired by translating stuff after we leave a place. I’m looking at these things in situ and thinking, that doesn’t look right, get some time later and translate any info only to find out that we are looking at a late 18thC plaster replicas or something. :/

Same with this one…
Monumental statue of Emperor Charles IV from the Old Town Bridge Tower of Prague’s Charles Bridge, Peter Parker, c.1370-1400. Original in sandstone, cast (below) in plaster.

Magnificne manuscript of the Golden Bull, Prague, 1400, leather, pen and parchment… reads the first half of the description. 😐 There’s a running them here; it’s a facsimile the original is in Vienna, in the Austrian National Library. The codex of constitution documents were commissioned by King Wenceslas c.1378-1400 and oh who gives a shit, this is a copy as well executed as some of my more proficient SCA calligrapher friends could make.

Humpback cup, Ellington & Co, Birmingham, c.1886. Copper brass, gilding… another fucking copy – is nothing in this museum original? The original 16thC cup is somewhere else and it doesn’t even tell us. The cup and other objects were part of the ceremonial table dictated for use in the Golden Bull.

Holy Lance: Replica! Holy Hand Grenade: Replica! Holy Dagger thing: Replica!
The original objects symbolised the military strength of the head of the empire of Otto I (936-973).

The room had these neat – but obviously modern – reliefs that depicted the famous and important houses of Nuremberg. For some reason these didn’t bother me so much, as they weren’t accompanied by an info plaque and obviously weren’t pretending to be medieval artefacts. *shrug*

Coronation of Ludwig IV the Bavarian, in Milan as King of Italy on May 31, 1327, work attributed to Agostino Di Giovanni (c. 1310-1370)… or at least the original marble one was. This is a plaster case made in Munich.

Oh thank fuck!!! I really enjoyed looking at this glass tankard, and was just now sitting here thinking, it was probably painted by some dude named Hans last week!

Imperial Eagle Tankard, 17thC glass, enamel painted, Nuremberg.
The double headed eagle was often the motif of imperial allegories and represented the structure and significant of the empire. The quaternion eagle has the individual coats of arms on its wings of the various imperial estates.

So, for the sake of representation there were some large information plaques which detailed these very famous objects associated with the Crown Treasury of Nuremberg and the Holy Roman Empire. The crown, dalmatic, and under tunic in particular are objects I am hoping to see at the Kunsthistoriches… but they’ve obviously been included here for education’s sake – and I’m really beginning to think this is a very well laid out place for school kids to come learn Stuff (which shouldn’t detract from my enjoyment of the displays – but it fucking does!).

The following Palace rooms were the private chambers of the emperor/s in the upper floors of the castle; they’ve been set up post WWII to give an impression of homeliness with some furniture, portraits…
Baroque Chest, Tyrols, c.17thC.

Wappendecke: Coat of arms cover, Fritz Haeberlein, Nuremberg, c.1947…?

Prunkofen: a magnificent Stove, Nuremberg, c.1675. Timber exterior and tiled interior.

Four keys from the lock of the Imperial Regalia, c.16th/17thC.
In 1423, Emperor Sigmund entrusted the City of Nuremberg with the safekeeping of the Imperial Regalia. The relics were kept safely locked in a shrine, in the church of the Holy Spirit Hospital, which was under the city council jurisdiction. Access to the chapel vault was secured by multiple persons holding different keys.

The views out to the courtyard… while walking through these rooms today, I was wondering what it must have been like for the high born womenfolk who inhabited these walls. Now, I reckon these windows were probably installed after WWII and no medieval women looked out these windows.

Armbrut: Cross bow, Nurember, c.16thC,. Bow: steel. String: hemp. Column: wood, black horn and white etched horn inlay.

LEFT: Bolt case, some labeled with the name of the Nurember patrician family, “Volckamer”, c.1595. Wood, fittings of iron, partly tinned, handle of brass.
RIGHT: German crossbow crankequin. Heavy craniquins like this one were indispensable for drawing the bow-string on a robust steeel bow.

Drinking vessel in the shape of a richly ornamented cannon. When the cover is opened, it becomes apparent it is for dining. Citizen’s Artillery of Nuremberg, c.15thC.

Maximilian style armour.
“The suit of plate armor is a complex artistic and technological masterpiece. In development since around 1300, full body armor made up of many different parts had reached its highest level of complexity by 1500. In principle, the individual parts had to be adapted to the individual wearer if the armor was to be fully functional. Not everyone could afford such tailor-made armor, however. Many fighters put together their protective equipment from parts that were already available. In order to increase mobility, individual parts of the armor could be left out at any time.
A suit of plate armor is a complex artistic and technological masterpiece. It was developed from ca. 1300 on and reached its highest complexity around 1500. Generally, each part had to be fitted to the individual wearer, if the armour was to function properly. However, not every fighting man could afford customised armour. Protection often had to be improvised and adapted from available parts. In order to increase mobility, parts would be left off.” Sounds familiar…

Two breastplates of late Gothic Armour; from the town hall in Spittal, Carinthia, Austria. C.1450-1500.
Iron, forged, steeled, filed, and originally polished.

Late Gothic armoured gloves.
Germany, iron, forged, steeled, ground, polished, leather later addition, c.1450.

Two backplates of Late Gothic armour from the town hall in Spittal, Carinthia, Austria. C.1450-1500.
Iron – forged, steeled, filed and originally polished.

Helms: 1) Bascine, 14thC. 2) Bascinet, German, late 14thC. 3) Kettle hat or Chapel-de fer, Tirol c1400.
4) Jousing helm, Tyrol, late 15thC. 5) Sallet, Frankie, c.1450/60. 6) Italian bascinet, Northern Italian late 15thC.

Gothic suit of equestrian armour – almost complete condition which is extremely rare apparently. Nuremberg armoury, the fancy shoe tips made it unsuitable for combat. It could have Ben worn only be a rider. The help is not original to this suit.

Nuremberg, c.1470/80. Iron – steeled, ground and originally polished to a high sheen.

Iron-clad door with iron fittings. . Dates from the reign on fate Bohemian and German Kings Charles IV or his son Wenceslas. 2nd half 14thC.

There was a very small section that dealt with the history of Nuremberg after the period of theHoly Roman Empire and glossed over WWII fairly quickly.

Ok… the Castle was very cool and I really enjoyed seeing the buildings a the layout of the fortress complex… but fuck me, I was so dirty when I discovered how many of the artefacts were just bloody modern replicas. I know it shouldn’t detract from the enjoyment of seeing these things in this context, but it fucking does! I walked up (and back down – which is sometimes even more painful) four storeys of stairs with a severely torn meniscus to see stupid copies of things? My heart rate was up around 150bpm the whole time, and I was overheating due to the excessive pain from my knee joint (and an involuntary habit of holding my breath inappropriately while in pain) and for what? To see shit that I would have been better off looking up high res images of the originals, online? It was so deflating.

Encountered this amazing vending machine in a shopping centre car park of all places – full of cheese and charcuterie! And here’s me thinking Japan has the best vending machines.

After the castle, we made our way to Haupmarkt to see the famous Schöner Brunnen fountain, a 14thC Gothic fountain locate next to Nuremberg’s main markets and the town hall. It is 19m high and in the shape of a church spire. It was built by Heinrich Beheim in 1385.

The Frauenkirche is not far away and is the Roman Catholic parish church of Nuremberg. It was built at the commission of Emperor Charles VI from 1352-1362 as a hall church. It is full of sculptures, many of them have been preserved from around the time of construction, so they are c.1360 also. There wasn’t a lot of information available in the church, an it was smaller than I expected.

The facade of the Frauenkirche has as clock called the ‘Männleinlaufen’ (Little Men Running) which is activated at noon, and has seven little men – representing electors of Nuremberg – that move with chimes. It was built/ordered by Charles IV in 1356 to commemorate the Nuremberg code of Laws, the Golden Bull. The clock was removed during WWII and stored in a Nuremberg Art Bunker.

The inner vestibule was full of brightly painted relief art work – I imagine this is what a lot of the old cathedrals looked like but haven’t been restored over the centuries.

The Tucher Alter c.1440/50 came from a demolished Augustinian Church – the Frauenkirche was used as a Protestant church for several centuries and much of the art and sculpture came back into he church when it was redesignated? reconsecrated? by the Catholic Church.

There has been an organ in this church since 1492, however this one is from the 1950s.

I got nothing on this sculpture, other than that Baby Jee looks stoned.

Pergenstorfer Epitaph.

Stopped by a bookshop, having decided to acquire a couple of well known books to try to read in German. I figure this immersion stuff has to help at some point. It’s sure not helping here; every time I try to speak with people in German they can tell I’m not a native speaker immediately and they switch to English. How are you supposed to get any better if people won’t talk to you? :/

St Seibald’s Church apparently began with a grave in 1070, and not long afterwards reports of healing miracles occurring at his grave are documented.

The Chruch that is here today was built in the first half of the 13thC as a late Romanesque pillared basilica with a double choir. It was around this time that Nuremberg was becoming an important centre of commerce in Central Europe. In the early 1300s the side aisles were expanded, and the high Gothic choir loft was added between 1361 and 1379. Seibald became the patron saint of aspiring commercial ventures, even though he was apparently not canonised until 1425.

Master of the Tucher Altar, c.1440 and Elizabeth Starch Epitath, c.1450.

’Schüsslesfeider’, Saint Christoper, c.1442.

Most of the partially preserved stained glass in this church was donated by the families of City Council members of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, in the 14thC. Some was replaced c.1500, and the ‘newest’ glass in the cathedral was installed in 1601.

Madonna on the Crescent Moon, c.1437.

Glass: Behaim Window with the Annunciation and the Nativity, c.1330.

Altar of Saint Peter, c.1477.

Memborial for the Schroeder-Landaeur families, c.1490-92.

Peter Vischer and Sons tomb of St Seibald, c.1508-1519.

The organ was a late addition – we were just discussing how it wasn’t up in a specific organ loft like we had seen in many cathedrals, and actually looked to be a free-standing object. Then we discovered it was only added to the church in 1975.

St Catherine – originally on the Exterior of the Last Judgement Portal c.1310.

And of course the bit I’m always curious about – during WWII, between 1943 and 1945, the church was repeatedly hit by bombs and severely damaged (hence the partially preserved stained glass). As late as April 20, 1945, both towers were bombarded until fires broke out and melted the medieval bells. The first phase of reconstruction lasted 12 years and ended in 1957. There are still repair and removal of war damage happening today.

Anna Oelhafen Epitaph, c.1528.

Having a very sparse breakfast, and having skipped lunch, we gave up on our churching and went hunting for some dinner. Angus found this place which is a local Franconian ‘field to table’ restaurant – the beers, wine, water, juice tea are all sourced from Franconia; vegetables are all grown locally in Knoblauchsland, fishes are sauced from Heinl an Erlangen fishmonger, sausages come from the Nuremberg butcher, and game is delivered by someone named Waffler from his local hunting ground. It made me think of the 40 Happy Cows that Le Cinq have on a farm some 20kms out of Paris just to make butter for the restaurant! 🙂

Angus opted for the bratwurst platter which came with rye bread and the most sour of sauerkraut you’ve ever tried in your life, and I opted for a pork shoulder because it seems I have a habit of panic ordering when I’m not speaking English! It was a sizeable and somewhat fatty portion that came with potato dumplings (which Angus enjoyed), and red cabbage – not sour.

After we finished our meal, we stopped in a grocery store for some toothpaste (weirdly, we both thought the other would have a decent sized tube and neither of us did!) and I saw these – these lemon wafer biscuits are, without a doubt, one of my FAVOURITE European snacks that I can’t get back home… it took all my ‘keine zucker’ willpower to not buy them, especially as they were selling them in packs of 5 for like €2.39. Insta-regret kicked in as soon as we got back! LOLi

Our next stop in Nuremberg was to ferret out Albrect Drurers house – which you wouldn’t think would be that difficult to find, but it’s easy to get turned around in the windy little medieval streets.

This is a cool house, but not Drurer’s house.

Finally found it – Albrect Dürer (1471-1528), is Germany’s most famous painter lived in this house now turned musuem.

St Jerome in his Study, Albrect Durer, c.1521

Paumgartner Altar, c.1498.

Portrait of Oswolt Krel, c. 1499.

Adoration of the Magi, c.1517.
The covered chalices and chains demonstrate Durer’s background as a goldsmith.

The Four Apostles, Guardians of Justice, c.1526. Guardians of Justice.

Maria with the Pear Slice, c.1512.

Self Portrait with Eryngium, c.1493

Self Portrait, c. 1498.

Dürer originally trained as a goldsmith and in 1487, ended his goldsmith’s apprenticeship with his father in order to start anew as an apprentice at the workshop of the famous painter Michael Wolgemut. Additionally, he specialised in a completely new profession: that of book illustrator and free graphic artist. Before too long his talents attracted rich and highly educated customers. In 1496, he met the man who would become his most important patron, Elector Frederick of Saxony.

Dürer’s House is a typical Nuremberg Fachwerkhaus, where he lived from 1509 to 1528. It is in Nuremberg’s Altstadt near the Kaiserburg section of the Nuremberg Castle and the Tiergätnertor. It is the only artist’s house turned museum of its kind… apparently?

Living rooms and study spaces are furnished with period furniture. Dürer’s family life was rather out of the ordinary: in 1494, he married Agnes Frey, at the behest of both his father and hers. While Dürer’s mother had been pregnant eighteen times, his own marriage remained childless.

I love these windows… why don’t we make windows like this anymore?

A small cupboard and a hand washing space.

Wall clock… no information on these. But plenty of small plaques asking visitors to not touch things!

The downstairs kitchen is designed in such a way as the heat rises to warm the upper floors.

The upper floors contain a recreation of the artists workshop spaces.

An engraving plate and a glass sphere that could be used as a magnifier.

Printing systems.

Was very cool hour or so checking out Dürer’s house… even knowing most of the art works are replicas didn’t detract from how cool it is to be walking through this living museum space with its smoky hallway and centuries old furniture. The rest of the day was spent working before we moved on!

Bamberg

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Arrived in Bamberg after driving through a bit of a storm… deep water on the streets, some hail, small trees down – quite the mess. It’s always interesting seeing how other places deal with what in Brisbane is summer afternoon on a Tuesday. Seriously, this wee storm hit the news. You can tell their drains and systems are not set up for it at all, whereas when I was growing up, summer afternoon thunderstorms were a dime a dozen and at least a few a week. Roads are nasty when they don’t have sufficient storm surge drains.

Anyway, it all made for a pretty sunset, and if it hadn’t been raining still and if we had noticed the sky turning bright red sooner, we would have tried to bop around to the Rat Haus for a photo of it in the cool colours. Knew it would be gone by the time we got there though… so the shot below is not my photo!

Wandering through the old town towards the famous Bamberg Altes Rathaus, we saw many cool wood and stone buildings typical of these small German towns. They’re so picturesque and quaint, it’s lovely to just walk through and admire the buildings.

The Altes Rathaus or town hall was first mentioned in records in 1387. It is also known to have been rebuilt in 1461 and 1467 to its current state; during those construction stages, it fortunately kept its Gothic style.

Johann Jakob Michael Küchel redesigned the Altes Rathaus in a more Baroque and Rococo between 1744 and 1756. The Altes Rathaus is the most iconic symbol of Bamberg built into the middle of the River Regnitz, between the Upper and Lower Bridges.

The facade paintings were originally created by Johann Anwander in 1755 but they have been restored many times. In the Post WWII era, the paintings were particularly faint and dirty, and a painter named Anton Greiner was commissioned to repaint them between 1959 and 1962. Both sides of the Rathaus are completely decorated with allegorical scenes and trompe l’oeil architectural details.

If you look below the Rathaus, you can see some churning water which local kayakers have set up into a slalom course. There must have been a dozen of them in the water on the gentle rapids while we were there.

Facade of the Goldschmiede area – shops full of jewellers.

Brauhaus row.

Wandeirng up towards the Cathedral Dom.

It was a fair bit steeper than you led us to believe, Google Maps…

Sadly, the Cathedral is usually closed on Sunday mornings (presumably for services), and today it wasn’t opening at all, but this did weirdly lead to a free entracne to the nearby Bamberg History Museum.

The Old Court House houses the Bamberg City Museum.

Saints Henry and Kunigunde, Unknown artist/s, c.1370, sandstone.

Crucifixion, Unknown Southern German copied from Christoph Schwartz, (Munich, 1545-1592). Oil on wood.

LEFT: Death of the Virgin, Unknown Franconian artist, late 15thC, oil on wood.
RIGHT: Death of the Virgin, Unknown Southern German artist, 16thC, oil on wood.

Reading Mary with Child, crowned by Angels. Unknown Dutch artist, early 16thC, oil on wood.

Death of the Virgin (again!), Workshop of Hans Pleydenwurff, (Bamberg 1420-1472), c.1460, oil on wood.

Bamberg Clare Altar, form the Workshop of the Master of Bamberg Clare, c.14500/1500, oil on wood.

Hortolona, the mother of Saint Clare in prayer, Unknown Nuremberg artist, c.1360, tempera on oak.

Saint Clare Raises the Dead, Unknown Nuremberg artist, c.1360, tempura on oak.

Jesus and John the Baptist as Children, Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1535. Oil on wood.

The Ploughshares Legend, Unknown Franconian artist, City of Bamberg, c.1550-1600, oil on wood.

The Penny Miracle, Unknown Franconian artist, Bamberg Municipality, c.1550-1600. Oil on wood.

Saint Catherine, Unknown South German artist, Late 15thC, tempera on wood.

The Adoration of the Magi, Unknonw artist, copy after Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1600, oil on wood.

Portrait of the Mayor of Cologne, Peter von Heimbach, artist: Bathrolomäus Bruyd (Wesel of Cologne, 1493-1555), c.1545, tempera on wood.

Young Bacchus, Unknown Roman artist, 17th-18thC, oil on canvas.

Young Bacchus, circle of Nicolas Poussin (Les Andelys, Normandy 1594-1665), 17thC,m oil on canvas.

Latona with her children Apollo and Diana, Anton Raphael Mengs (Aussig/Bohemia 1728-1779), 18thC, oil on canvas.

Winter Landscape, Circleof Joos de Mompher II (Antwerp 1564-1635), late 16thC/early 17thC. Oil on wood.

The Bread Eater / The Arrow Carver
Peter Breugehel the Younger, (Brussels 1564-1638, Antwerp), c.1620. Oil on wood.

The Gift / The Punished Licker
Peter Breugehel the Younger, (Brussels 1564-1638, Antwerp), c.1620. Oil on wood.

So, Still Life artworks confuse me. I can see and appreciate the skill involved in rendering the tableau so perfectly, but I just don’t understand why they became so popular… particularly in the Low Countries in the 17thC. Still life paintings depict carefully selected and arranged inanimate objects (that bit I can get – it’s kinda like a small product creative advertising shoot!), such as fruit, flowers, kitchen utensils, goods at the market, hunting spoils, weapons or musical instruments. But they are also supposed to be creating a an illusion of reality that can convey a deeper meaning, such as the transience and fragility of life… umm, yeah! All these flowers, and food items are gonna rot eventually, so they’re all temporary. I don’t know, apparently some of them contain allegories, proverbs, ríddles or humorous tales, but who knows?

Still Life, copy after Jan Davidsz De Heem (Utrecht 1606-1684, Antwerp), c.1638.
Oil on canvas… needs more lobster.

The Anatomy of Dr. Tulp, Willy Fries (Zurich, 1881-1865) copied after a Rembrandt. Oil on canvas.

Children at the Window, Johann Nikolaus Treu (Bamberg 1734-1786(, c.1760. Oil on canvas.

Death of Mary, unknown artist, c.1500, relief from the Carmalite Church and thought to be part of a winged altar. Workmanship is of a high quality and thought to be connected with the workshop of Dürer and his teacher, Michael Wolgemut. Linden wood.

St Katharine, c.1500. Bamberg, carved and painted Linden wood.

The next few objects were interesting, but I couldn’t find any information on them at all.

Hallways of the Old Court House which houses the museum.

GIRAFFE WINGS – Christoph Ehrlich (1782- 1830) cherry veneer, ebony, ivory, in oil. C.1828. The trained organ builder Christoph Ehrlich set up an instrument factory for pianos and guitars in Bamberg and offered the special shape of this giraffe grand piano: tall instead of long, it fit into small Biedermeier rooms.

STANDARD OF THE VELOCIPED CLUB, Bamberg, 1893, silk, bouillon threads, brass.
On June 17, 1882, the new cycling fashion found expression in Bamberg when 20 men founded the Velociped Club. It is one of the early German cycling clubs. Races were held on the cycling track, which required great skill on the fast but dangerous high-wheelers. The cyclist greeting “All Heil” that was common at the time was printed on the flag.

St George fighting the Dragon, wood, papier-mache, modelling clay, glass, pearls. C. 1852.

Most of the objects in these galleries were very modern and were related to the recent history of Bamberg; as a medieval enthusiast, they were not my primary area of interest.

Granatschmuck – Garnet jewellery: gold, garnet, silver, c. 1850.

Two Bridal Crowns, Franconia. Copper wire, brass sheet ‘tinsel’, cardboard, glass beads, linen, silk, cotton. Late 19thC/early 20thC. Bridal crowns or holiday crowns were worn by young unmarried women in procession on important holidays until their wedding. Common in Franconian Switzerland and the Mistelgau region to the north.

The Nues Residence, which contains a large collection of Asian ceramics and porcelain that we didn’t want to spend $$$$ to go see.

Through this building is the entrance to the Rosengarten.

The Rose Garden is in the inner courtyard of the New Residence and offers a great view over Bamberg. The garden itself is formal in nature and is mostly roses… not sure what else you can say about that. It was quite busy while we were there, and sadly lacking in benches where visitors could loiter.

Having skipped breakfast and having wandered 5.4kms around the rather small old town and museum, we decided it was time to hunt for some brunch… alas, by 13:00, fruhstuck options were all gone, and we ended up at a Bavarian Brauhaus. Angus chose the Jagerschnitzel and I opted for what I thought was going to be something lighter: a couple of bratwurst sausages. Delicious – we are now losing track of our rating system for mushroom sauce served with schnitzels!

Little bit of souvenir shopping – looking for the tackiest things ever, of course – before heading back to the hotel to get some work done.

Which mean coming back past the RatHaus – looks totally different in the afternoon light, and I couldn’t see the aura around the sun with the naked eye at all. Something something atmospheric weirdness.

Dresden

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In February of 1945, just before the end of WWII, Dresden was carpet bombed into oblivion. Allied bombers (772 of them) dropped over 3,900 tonnes of high explosive and incendiary devices over the city destroying some 6.5sqkms of the town’s centre. It was became a contentious campaign, as the Allies claimed they were bombing railway, manufacturing and communication infrastructure, but the bulk of the explosives were dropped over the culturally significant Old Town which was primarily inhabited by civilians. At the time, the Nazis claimed it was a war crime and said that between 200,000 and 500,000 people were killed… historians have been able to establish that perhaps as many as 25,000 people, (still way too many!), were killed during the Dresden bombings.

Looking around Dresden today – there’s hardly a sign of it anywhere, bar a few singed sandstone blocks on the Frauenkirche. It’s easy to forget that you are walking around a town where people were literally picking up the pieces of their neighbours after an horrific air attack.

The long summer days are waking us up really early – we seem to be out and about quite a bit before any people are about for the day…

The Frauenkirche. Last time I was here, it wasn’t quite so well lit up… November will do that to Europe.

Angus was stunned inside – his commentary was much around the, ‘So there are people around now who know how to build things and make them look like this? So why do new buildings all look so shit?’
I responded that a lot of these craftsmen were still around and plying their trades in Europe; building and restoring old buildings of which there is a plentiful supply… but there’s no a lot of call for it back home in Australia – and large civil projects always get tendered out, and often go to the cheapest/most cost effective proposal. Sadly, this often results in functional but boring or even ugly.

It is a very beautiful, albeit small, church… even if it is largely brand new.

Just around the corner from the Frauenkirche is the Füstenzug, or the Procession of Princes. It is a large mural depicting a mouthed procession of the past rulers of Saxony. It was originally designed and painted in the 1870s to celebrate the 800th anniversary of Saxony’s ruling family, and is made from 23,000 Meissen porcelain tiles. It’s just over 100m long and was completed around 1907… it’s kinda unique and depicts dukes and kings from the 1100s to the 1900s.

The Trinity Cathedral, not open for some reason – I don’t believe we got to see inside this cathedral in 2018 either.

A covered walkway connecting the Zwinger Palace complex to the Cathedral.

Across the road is the Semperoper – the Dresden State Opera House which also houses the State Ballet. Originally built in the late 1860s, then burned down, and rebuilt again in the late 1870s. It was completely destroyed in the bombing of Dresden in WWII, and was rebuilt in the 1980s.

One of the many entrances to the Zwinger Palace. The Zwinger Palace was originally built in the Baroque styles in the 1700s to be a pleasure palace, festival centre, orangerie/gardens, and residence for the royal court at Dresden. The buildings were mostly destroyed during the carpet bombing raids in 1945, though thankfully the art collection had been evacuated previously. Reconstruction efforts on this building began almost as soon as the war was over, with some parts restored (with some support by the Soviet military administration) and opened back to the public by 1951. It was almost fully restored to it’s pre-war state by 1963.

These days it is a museum complex, housing the Gemäldergalie Alte Meister (Old Masters’ Galleries), a Porcelain Collection and a Mathematics and Scientific Instruments Gallery.

Walking through the gorgeous stone arches, I couldn’t wait to be greeted by the beautiful formal gardens the Zwinger isn know for… only to be disappointed by this complete and utter clusterfuck:

Holy snapping construction mess of messes! What an eyesore… and to add insult to serious injury, hardly any of it was accessible, so that meant makeshift stairs to move through the complex if we wanted to see anything. So fucked, but what do you do? 🙁

Obviously I limped along and made it into the galleries! Last time stymied by winter closures, I wasn’t going to miss it again. Good thing that too – it is quite an impressive collection with lots of important and well known artists repressented.

Ercole de’ Roberti – The Arrest of Christ on the Way to Golgotha, c.1482/86. Oil on poplar panel.

Marinus van Reymerswale – The Money Changer and His Wife, c.1541. Oil on panel.

Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, c.1550. Oil on panel. Artist not known.

Johannes Vermeer – Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, c.1657-1659. Oil on canvas.

Roelant Savery – Before the Deluge, c.1620. Oil on oak panel.

Marten van Valkenborch – The Tower of Babel, 1595. Oil on oak panel.

El Greco – The Healing of the Blind Man, c.1570. Mixed media on poplar panel.

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo – Saint Roderic, c.1650/55. Oil on canvas.

Peter Paul Rubens – The Drunken Hercules being Led by a Satyr Couple, c.1613/14. Oil on oak wood.

Silenus, 3rdC AD, copy of a lost statue from the 3rdC BC. Carrara marble.

Victor Wolfvoet – The Head of Medusa, c.1648. Oil on canvas.

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn – Saskia with a Red Flower, 1641. Oil on oak panel.

Johannes Vermeer – The Procuress, 1636. Oil on canvass.

Jan van Eyck – Triptych with Madonna and Child, Saint Catherine, and Archangel Micheal with Donor. 1437. Oil on oak panel… this was the last thing I expected to see here today (hadn’t looked up the museum prior to arriving), and it is a sublime piece. Barely A3 in size, it is exquisitely executed.

The small tromp l’oeil backs of the wings of the tiny altarpiece…

The only other display in the room with the tiny Van Eyck altarpiece were five enormous tapestries that came from the workshops of Peter van Edingen van Aalst and Bernard van Orley – Brussels (1490-1542). Tapestries were made from wool, silk and metal thread, and while the photos don’t do them any justice, these tapestries still have much shine to them, unlike many other works from this age where the metal threads have largely tarnished and look very grey. Stunning!

LEFT: Attic, c.460-450 BC, Villa Guilia Painter.
CENTRE: Attic, c.440-430 BC, Painter of the Louvre Centauromachy.
RIGHT: Lucanian, c.380-370 BC, Creusa Painter.

Detail:

Dionysian Scene, Apulian, c.380-370 BC, Near the Ilioupersis Painter.

No description unfortunately on this artifact – It looks to be a candle holder or oil lamp.

RIGHT: Amphora, Theseus and the Minataur, Attic, c.500 BC, Bompas Group.

Titian – Portrait of Lavinia, c.1565. Oil on canvas.

Piero di Cosimo – The Holy Family, c.1500. Oil on poplar panel.

And around the corner an unexpected…. Sandro Botticelli, Episodes from the Life of Saint Zenobia’s, c.1500. Tempura on poplar panel.

Andrea Mantegna – The Holy Family, c.1495/1500. Tempura on canvas.

Fra Angelico – The Annunciation, c.1435. Tempura on poplar panel.

Pintoricchio – Portrait of a Boy, c. 1480/82. Tempura on poplar panel. Unlike everyone else in here, he’s looking at us…

Raffael – The Sistine Madonna, c.1512/13. Oil on canvas…. This is one of the most famous works of the Renaissance!

Giovanni Batistta Moroni – Lady in a Red Dress, c.1560. Oil on canvas.

Titan – Sleeping Venus, c.1508/10. Oil on canvas… another very famous Renaissance artwork. This one as one of the first large scale fully nude representation of a woman in Italy. In ancient mythology, Venus was a goddess of love and beauty – her calm while sleeping and the harmony of her body are reflected in the idyllic countryside. The painting may have been started by Giorgione who died of plague in 1510, it was most certainly completed by Titan who likely added his characteristic drapery and landscape.

Pietro Antonio Graf Rotari – Replaceable Faces, c. 1707. Oil on Canvas…. I initially thought these might be studio studies that were later framed, but an info plaque pointed out that they were designed to be a collection of small portraits that could be rearranged to suit the owners preferences. There were 24 identically sized panels in all.

Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto – The Old Market in Dresden from Schlossgasse, c.1750/51. Oil on canvas.

Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto – The Zwinger Courtyard in Dresden, c.1751/51. Oil on canvas. Yeah right!? Have you looked out there at the construction clusterfuck?

Bernardo Bellotto Canaletto – The Ruins of the former Kreuzkirche (Church of the Holy Cross) in Dresden, c.1765. Oil on canvas.

Jean Étienne Liotard – The Chocolate Girl, c.1744. Pastel on Parchment… This painting is significantly different from others in the pastel collection – it is of a simple serving girl, a low status individual, who is yet depicted in a full figure profile.

Albrecht Dürer – Bernhard von Ressen, c.1821. Oil on oak panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger – Adam (left), Eve (right), c.1537. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger – The Crucifixion of Christ, c.1546. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Elder – The Presentation of Christ to the People, c.1515/20. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Elder – Portraits of Henry XI of Saxony and Duchess Catherine of Mecklenburg!

Lucas Cranach the Younger – Samson and Delilah, c.1537. Oil on lime wood panel.

Lucas Cranach the Younger – Solomon’s Idolatry, c.1537. Oil on lime wood panel.

There is a substantial number of galleries devoted to the art form or still life painting – but personally I just don’t get it. Yes, I understand why artists devoted themselves to perfecting still lifes during this period, but they don’t really move me at all.

Cornelius de Heem – A Lobster, Fruit and Flowers, c.1660-70. Oil on canvas… included because I liked his lobster.

Frans Floris – Portrait of Two Children, c.1563. Oil on canvas… rude to leave the happy pupper off the title.

Peter Paul Rubens – Satyr and a Girl with a Basket of Fruit, c.1620. Oil on panel.

Martin Schongauer – A Censer, c.1500. Engraving. This object is considered one of the first still lifes made in printmaking. It is not known if it depicted an existing censer or was a design for a goldsmiths work.

The Altes Meisters gallery was certainly full of important and famous pieces. It is well worth the price of admission. After this we went looking for the Zwinger Nymphanbad sculpture garden and fountain… traversing the deconstructed courtyard again.

The Nymphanbad:

Around the corner from that pretty little courtyard is the Museum of Mathematical and Scientific Instruments.

Paulus Schuster – Table Clock, Nuremberg, c.1582. Has large dials with hour indicators and an astrolabe on one side and an annual calendar on the other. The small dial shows the day of the week, quarter hour and minute. It also has an alarm mechanism. The silver figures of Neptune alternatively move their heads every minute for 15 seconds, and the rooster on top crows on the house while two men strike bells!

Caspar III Buschmann – Monstrance Clock, Augsburg, c.1625. Ebony from India.

Unknown artist – Table clock, Augsburg, c.1590. Gild casing contains the timekeeping mechanism which shows hours and has a striking mechanism which chimes on the hour and quarter hours. It also has an alarm function.

LEFT: Unknown Artist: Horizontal Table Clock, French, c. 1590. Timekeeping and striking mechanisms are one atop the other, typical of French clocks of this period. German clocks tended to be side by side.
RIGHT: Unknown Artist: Horizontal Table Clock, French, c.1600. The vertical mechanisms are easily visible through the crystal cylinder.

LEFT: Giovanni Buttista Mascarone – Cruciform Watch, Milan, c.1600
RIGHT: Martin Zoller – Pendant Watch, Augsburg, c.1630

Automaton Eagle with Crown, Augsburg, c.1635.

Hans Schlottheim – Crayfish Automaton, Augsburg, c.1589. This crayfish can move its pincers, feelers, legs and tail. Originally there were a pair of crayfish which would creep forwards and the other backwards. Operated by two clockwork gear wheels.

Isaac Huberecht – Skull Form Pendant Watch, Strasbourg, c.1660.

Johann Willebrand – Horizontal Sundail, Augsburg, c.1720.

Leonhard Miller – Diptych Sundail, Nuremberg, c.1630, Ivory/

Johann Wicteul Hayer – Nocturnal, Frankfurt, c. 1707. The nocturnal was used for telling the time at night. After setting the date, the user looked thorough the hole in the centre towards the pole start. The pointer was then rotated until it was inline with the last tow starts in the Big Dipper constellation. The time could then be determined from the pins on the device.

Zeus Enthroned Pendulum Wall Clock, Paris, 18thC.

Peter Johannes Klein – Geographical Table Clock, c.1738. One side has a clock face indicating hours and minutes, the other has a 24 hr face that also functions as the equator of the globe.

Ludwig Teubner, Dresden, c. 1896. Model of the “5-Minute Clock”… since 1841 there has been a clock above the stage in the Semperoper house which has rectangular fields with the hours marked. Minutes are shown in Arabic numbers on the right. The clock moves every five minutes.

Abraham Louis Breguet – “Montre Á Tact” Pocket watch with Chatelaine, Paris, c.1810. This watch allows the time to be known in the dark, by feeling the hour mark on the edge of the case.

Unfortunately the next cabinets were not market at all other than a vague heading: OPTICS

Blaine Pascal – Mechanical Calculator, France, c.1650. World’s oldest surviving mechanical calculators.

TELESCOPES:

SURVEYING DEVICES:

ELECTROSTATIC & GENERATION DEVICES:

Friction Electric Generator – Fuchs, Leipzig, c. 1817.

HISTORICAL GLOBES GALLERY:

Terrestrial & Celestial Globes – Matthäus Seutter, Augsburg, c.1710.

Terrestrial & Celestial Cones – Christlieb Benedict Funk, Leipzig, c.1780.

World Time Clock – Andreas Gärtner, Dresden, c. 1690. The large gilt face of this world time clock has a small face for each of the 360° longitude. Each of these faces bears the name of a place, city, island etc. Over the small faces the hour hand is pointing downwards and rotates when the main clock does.

Geocentric Armillary Spheres – Charles Francois Delamarche, Paris, c.1800.

Heraldic Celestial Globe – Earhart Weigel, Jena, c.1690. Weigel replaced the constellations with the heraldry of the coats of arms of various European Princes and important cities and estates. Chased copper, embossed reliefs then painted.

Gregorian Reflecting Telescope – Johann Gottlob Rudolph, Miltitz,, c.1748.

”Topsy Turvy World” Automaton – Hans Schlottheim, Augsburg, c.1590.

Odometer – Christoph Trechsler the Elder, Dresden, c.1584.
Brass gilt odometer was used in a carriage and worked in a similar way to a modern car odometer.

Theodolite – Victor Starzt, Brussels, c.1633.

Mining Compass, German, c.1561

Back outside it was a beautiful day. We had had enough Musuem’ing (and enough of the stairs in and around the courtyard) so decided to go hunt for lunch instead of doing the Porcelain Galleries (this decision may or may not have been influences by the very small exposure to the Baroque porcelain obsession yesterday at Charlottenburg Palace!).

Great day all up – walked far too many steps and stairs (I’m so going to pay for this with my stupid knee tomorrow), but well worth the time in the galleries.

Ich habe in Berlin auch ein Pferd gefickt!

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Berlin! Some pics grabbed while out and about in Berlin – we stayed right near Alexanderplatz (at the Park Inn by Raddison), so were in and out of the square quite a bit.

Doesn’t matter what time of day it is, there is no way you can get photos around here without people in them. I tried.

The famous world clock – I really like this thing. Angus didn’t care for it much at all.

East Side Gallery – some of the artworks haven’t changed which is kinda cool. Especially nice to see the political images not being grafitti’d. When I was here last, I remember writing my name near He-Man’s loincloth, but that image seems to be gone now. 🙂

This image I remember quite well. It seems to have gotten larger and been touched up, but the style of it is memorable.

The Siegessäule Monument… or Victory Column is one of the most important national monuments in Germany and considered a ‘must see’ in Berlin (apparently… didn’t see it last time I was here as we came to the Palace via subway!). It was built in 1864 on the Konisplaz to commemoration the wars of Unification. It was moved to its current location in 1938 to be near monuments dedicated to Bismarck, Moltke and Roon – because it sounds like glorifying those sorts of people was what Nazis were into! The Victory at the top of the Column is also known as ‘The Golden Else’… not sure if Else is supposed to be a name or the English meaning of ‘else’. It’s a mystery.

On our way out of Berlin, we had an hour or so to visit Charlottenburg Palace… I have been here before, and wrote quite a bit about that visit and the history of the place. So I’m not going into that all over again, but there was an entire section of the palace that was closed last time that we managed to go into, so here’s a massive photo dump:

Started out as a nice day. Didn’t stay that way.

Mecklenberg Apartment rooms:

The Old Gallery:

Sophie’s Mirror Chamber:

I can’t believe I took this exact same picture (on the right) of the Pegasus in the ceiling without even meaning to…

Audience chambers:

The one original ceiling that survived WWII:

I also took this exact same photo on the left last time too!

And of course a bunch of pics of the Porcelain Cabinet which is still as much of an assault on the senses as it was last visit.

The Royal Chapel:

Last visit in 2018, we only managed to see the portion of the Palace as above. Today, we were able to go upstairs and see many more galleries and rooms.

Three portraits of imaginary and actual ancestress of the Hohenzollernss:

Funeral Helm (Death Helmet) of the Great Elector, Later called the “Helm of the Empire”.
Unknown armourer, Berlin 1688. Copper, hammered, fire gilt.

Medallions showing portraits of Duke Albert of Prussia and his consort, Anna Maria of Brunswick.
Jakob Binck, c.1555, silver, partially gilt.

Anna of Prussia, Electress of Brandenburg. Daniel Rose, c.1610. Oil on canvas.

Elector John Sigismund in Electorial Vestements. Unknown artist, c.1612, oil on canvas.

Elector Albrect Achilles, art of the Altar of the Order of the Swan, c.1484. Unknown artist. Oil on canvas.

LEFT: Crown of the Queen, unknown goldsmith, Berlin, c.1700. Gold, hammered, chased and enamel.
CENTRE: Imperial Seal, Samuel Stall, c.1700. Iron, silver and gilt.
RIGHT: Imperial Orb, Unknown goldsmith, Berlin, c.1700. Gold, enameled, diamonds, rubies, garnets.

Crown wooden storage box, c.1700. Timber and painted.

Imperial Scepter. Unknown goldsmith.
Berlin, c.1700, gold, silver, partially enamele, diamonds, rubies, garnets.

Brandenburg Electoral Sword. Simone do Giovanni Ghini, c.1469, reworked in 1539.
Silver, engraved, gilt, enamel; partly steel, partially gilted.

Then, there was examples of the nearly 8 tonnes of silverware that Frederick I accumulated in the 1730s. So much of it and so little description of any of it. Mostly elaborate food service objects and table centrepieces – while wandering through all these cabinets of silverware, all I could think about is the poor schmucks whose jobs it would have been to, 1) keep track of it all to make sure none of it went wandering, 2) manage the team of underlings who were no doubt responsible for polishing it so it didn’t tarnish and 3) deciding which pieces were going to be used on the table each time the family sat for a meal! It’s bad enough deciding what to cook for dinner let alone laying an elaborate table every bloody meal.

So much shiny silverware! And yet, this represents only a fraction of what there was at one point – Frederick the Great and his predecessors used their fantastical table settings as a disturbingly opulent display of wealth and of course power. But they also kinda treated it like portable wealth – and twice melted down most of the royal silver to fund wars: The Second Silesian War (1744-1745) and the the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). Each time the wars went and peace returned, he would commission replacement gold and silver table services!

I think these tall columns decked with angels connected with wreaths were probably centrepieces – and front he look of them, likely used at Christmas time with fresh cut greenery. No information on a lot of these pieces though.

Snuff Boxes collected by Frederick The Great: In the 18thC Frederick II collected richly ornamented snuffboxes with trims of precious gemstones, and made of solid stone, or precious metals. The accounts of the King how he commissioned over 200 snuff boxes, and always kept them close on hand on tables, in boxes or in cabinets at royal palaces. Made variously from red jasper, agate, gold, silver, diamonds, enamel, glass, gauche, watercolour, ivory, and other semi-precious stones and materials.

Centrepiece in the shape of an ornamental beaker, is part of the vast store of silverware presented to Prince Wilhelm and Augusta Victoria (1858-1921) by Prussian towns and provinces on their wedding in 1881. This beaker is far more Renaissance in style than Baroque.

The beautiful view from the upstairs salon down across the gardens.

We did manage to take a short walk around the gardens before the weather rolled in.

And, I promised to take Angus for lunch at Samowar – the Russian restaurant that is right near Charlottenburg Palace which is listed as one of Berlin’s best dining establishments. Though I mostly remember it for its kooky ambiance and their layered Russian honey cake. 😉

My memory of the Russian tea-room ambiance didn’t disappoint!

And neither did the meal. I wasn’t particularly hungry so opted for a creamy mushroom soup for lunch, while Angus had the wild boar sausages served with sauerkraut and pierogi, and of course we had to have an obligatory slice of Russian honey cake – which Angus is now very disappointed about, as it is much better than what we can get at home in Brisbane! *glass shatters forever*

Aber, ich gehe nicht in die Nähe von Berlin!

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Berlin Bear No 1: Hotel Bear near Alexanderplatz! We are staying in the Park Inn by Radisson for a few nights in Berlin. Some work around the Eurocup infrastructure and hopefully Angus will get to see some cool stuff while we are here.

Managed to get some work done and find time to head over to Museum Island for a while. We started at the Nues Museum (which ironically holds a lot of the oldest stuff) because the Altes Museum and the Bodes Museum were closed on Monday *and* Tuesday! Le sigh… you guys are killing us!

Egyptian artefacts aren’t really my usual cup of tea, but we are here to see what we can see.

The Deceased in front of Osiris – unfortunately the plaque didn’t give me any provenance/age for this piece.

Necklace of semi-precious stones and pearls – lapis lazuli, silver, faience, cornaline.
Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty.

Fragment of a Cult vessel with inlays. Old Kingom, 5th Dynasty, c.2490 BC, sycamore, faience, gold leaf.

Twelve antique scarabs, set as a necklace and earrings.
Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c. 794BC, Egypt, steatite (glazed), glass.

Praying statue of King Amenemhet III, Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c.1800BC

LEFT: Painting from a Tomb: Representation of the deified queen Ahmose-Nefertari.
RIGHT: Painting from a Tomb: Representation of the deified Pharaoh Amenhotep I.
New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, 1186-1070BC. Nile mud, stucco, painted.

Fragment of a pillar: King Seti I in front of the god Osiris. New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c.1290 BC

Head of a statue of Amenhotep III with nemes-scarf and double crown.
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c.13399-1351 BC.

Book of the Dead of the Mistress Keku hieroglyphic. Ptolemaic period, c.332-330 BC.

Stela of Hor praising the god Re-Harakhte. 3rd Intermediate Period, 22nd/23rd Dynasty, c. 946-722 BC.

Funeral mask. Late period. 25th-26th Dynasty, c.750BC, Thebes West. Wood and painted.

Anthropomorphc coffin of Hatbor-Ibet, with winged goddess. Late Period – Early Ptolemaic Period, 400-200 BC, Abusir el-Meleg; wood, primed, painted

Lid and case of the coffin of the woman Hat, Ptolemaic, c.332-30 BC
Akhmim; wood, stuccoed and painted.

God Anubis in the shape of a lying jackal.
Middle coffin of Mentuhotep, outer surface decorated with pairs of eyes.
Inner coffin of Mentuhotep, inner and outer surface decorated.
Burial goods: model of rowing boat with crew; female offering bearer; bowl and three jars for beer.
All Middle Kingdom, 12th Dybasty, c.1800BC, painted timber objects and pottery.

Family Burial: mummy mask of Aline and Mummies of three daughters of Aline.
Roman Imperialist period, 100-200AD, Tempera painting on canvas.

Four canopic jars (jars for entrails) with lids in the style of the four sons of Horus (protective deities),
3rd Intermediate Period, 21st-24th Dynaasty, c.10th-8thC BC, limestone.

Shanti without inscription and shabti of Nefer-in-Ra-Neith from his tomb.
3rd Intermediate Period, 22nd/23rd Dynasty c.945-715 BC, & Late period 26th Dynasty, c.570-526 BC.

Crocodile with snap-action mechanism.
New Kingdom, c.1540-1075 BC. Thebes, wood.

Base for a barque of the royal couple, Natakamani and Amanitore,
Meroitic Period, c.1-25AD, Wad Ban Naga Isis Temple, sandstone.

Stela, King Nastasen and his mother in front of the god Amon, c.330BC, granite.

Statue of a squatting hawk, upper part modern supplemented, donated by pharaoh Amenhotep III,
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c.1388-1351 BC.

Necklace, rings and scaraboid.
Gold, bronze, gilded, faience, semi-precious stones, c.5th-4thC BC, Cyprus.

Finger ring with Phoenician scarab, gold and glass, c.500 BC.

Urn of indecipherable description.

Wheeled stand for a cauldron. Bronze, c. 12–11thC BC.

Diadems, gold- silver plated, mid-3rd millennium BC, Treasure of Priam.

Ear pendants, gold, silver gilded, mid-3rd millenium BC, Treasure of Priam.

Bracelets, earrings or hair-rings. Gold, gold plated silver, mid-3rd millenium BC. Treasure trove L.

Armrings mentioned above:

Bronze Age exhibits had zero English descriptions, so we didn’t loiter here long…

Very cool and old but more detail please!

“Berlin Golden Hat”, Gold, c.1000 BC, location unknown, probably Southern Germany, and detail:

Bust of Nefertiti, one of the most famous art treasures of ancient Egypt. Considered a masterpiece of sculpture of the Amana period. Made during the reign of Pharoah Akhenaten, New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c.1353-1336 BC. No photos allowed, so stolen one from the internet!

The museum was large, but due to the lack of English signage, and not having a huge interest in Egyptian artefacts, we weren’t there long. Outside and off to the Berliner Dom. The cathedral is nowhere near as awesome an imposing as the Aachen and Cologne cathedrals – possible because it’s just not as large, and also because well, it’s so new… all things being relative.

The Berlin Cathedral is located at the Lustgarten end of Museum Island. IT’s a Protestant church built between 1894 and 1905, in a Neo-Renaissance/Neo-Baroque style. It is the largest Protestant church in Germany and has lots of important dead people in it. 😀

In WWII the cathedral was severely damaged. Allied air raids on the nearby area of Burstrasse, saw all the altar windows destroyed and large cracks in the dome, and corner towers. Later in 1944, during some of the worst air raids in Berlin, the dome and its lantern were heavily damaged. A canister with liquid fuel set fire to the wooden cladding that lines the copper roof as insulation. Firefighters apparently couldn’t reach it and the entire dome fell into the cathedral, going through the floor and into the crypt below. Urban legend says that a cathedral organist Fritz Heitmann kept playing even with the dome totally destroyed and open. After the war, the cathedral was assessed to by about 25% destroyed, and then looters caused even more damage – stealing pipes form the organ etc.

There are 270 steps to the top of Berliner Dom – needless to say, these are Angus’ photos.

Reconstruction on the cathedral didn’t commence until 1975 when funds and expertise became available at a cost of some 150M Deutschmarks. At the moment, the facade of the cathedral is undergoing renovations at a cost of some €1.6M. :/

You have to admire the workmanship and dedication that has gone into rebuilding Europe to be the way it was before WWII. They could have bulldozed the lot and replaced these glorious buildings with steel and glass monstrosities – but thankfully there is an appreciation for art and history that overrules that mentality.

Check Point Charlie was our next port of call, but not before we stopped for some lunch. I had intended to introduce Angus to the Berlin Currywurst Museum – but it’s permanently closed now. C’est la vie! We found a near little tapas bar, which was the nearest place out of the rain… longing for Rabelot in Barcelona!

Check Point Charlie (for all its importance in the Cold War and to the US etc) really is the most underwhelming of Berlin sights. Complete with McDonalds and about twenty souvenirs shops, there is nothing else here but a long line of smiling and oblivious tourists waiting to have their photo taken. I’m obviously too young to remember the tense situation that existed on this site post-WWII, but I remember reading about the failed attempt of one East Berliner attempting to flee to the West. He got badly wounded – he got caught up in razor wire fencing and struggled to free himself and ended up being left to bleed to death, all the while being watched by the world’s media with neither side approaching to save him, because it might trigger an enormous international incident. Horrific things like this happened here – but let’s line up for our smiling happy snap photos with our fingers in a V for peace sign.

After wandering around there for a bit we went looking for the Jewish Musuem. This building is a research academy which holds archives, a library and is dedicated to tracking displaced persons and Jewish history.

The Jewish Musuem and directly to the right, the Holocaust Tower.

Designed by Daniel Liebeskind, the tower is deliberately filled with voids and uncomfortable angles designed to focus visitors on the impersonal genocide of over six millions Jewish people across Europe in WWII. The building is very effective as an art space – it is cold and impersonal, full of sharp angles and a jagged layout. It deliberately doesn’t ‘flow’, and is designed to feel confronting.

A wishing tree… many of the exhibits here are artistic in nature and designed to be interactive. This tree is bedecked with leave bearing the wishes for peace and prosperity of visitors from all over the world. The museum opened in 2017 and despite the pandemic has already seen 11 million visitors.

This room memorialises the important of the Sabbath – but I didn’t really get it. It was a room filled with coloure chain curtains hanging from the ceillingwith information plaques stating how important it is to not work on the Sabbath.

Listening spaces are scattered throughout this curved hallway of chained curtains. There are people offering thoughts and prayers in different languages for the murdered Jews of Europe.

A couple of formal galleries of paintings of eminent Jewish persons were also included in the permanent exhibition.

Grave markers and stones, c.1930s. Of the 100,000 Jewish soldiers who fought for Germany in WWI, 12,000 of them lost their lives. That’s right, Jewish people fought for Germany, only for Germany to turn on them a few years later. During the Napoleonic Wars and WWI, rabbis served in the military as chaplains, and wider Jewish community took this as a symbolic gesture of the wider social acceptance of their religious practices.

The Hall of Fame: this space is designed to celebrate famous Jewish people who have contributed to history, arts, sciences etc.

From when Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich Chancellor in 1933, Jews were deprived of their civil rights. Daily harassment, anti-Jewish measures and increasing violence pushed them to the margins of society. State authorities robbed Jews of their assets and drove them to emigrate. Many Jews hoped that things would change and waited ot see what would happen. However, the violence excesses of Kristallnact (the Night of Broken Glass), in November 1938, convinced many it was time to flee. With the start of the war, emigration then brace me almost impossible, and Nazi rule culiminated in the mass murder of European Jews. This installation documents the slow and inexorable removal of civil rights for Jewish people… day by day, orders were created that slowly eroded their citizenship and personhood status.

This was one of the most depressing spaces in the museum, the wall hanging lined both sides of an enormous hallway listing every single edict enacted to suppress and oppress the Jewish people. It stated from 1933 and went thought until early 1945, listing day after day the restrictions being placed on Jewish people across the Third Reich in varying countries as they became occupied territories. The frog in a boiling pot is all I can think about in this room… that and how American conservatives are currently enacting legislation across their country that is restricting the rights and freedoms of their citizenry, even as I walk though this oppressive place.

Silverware and family heirlooms taken by Nazis from Jewish families.

Jewish stars… printed en masse. :’(

Map showing the deportation of Jews out of Germany.

A wall of displaced persons after liberation.

This art installation is about the recompense that the German government was ordered to give the survivors of the Holocaust. Many Jewish people who wanted to get on with their lives, but had had all their assets stolen and had lost all connections with family, ended up stuck in a grindingly slow burn ratio nightmare waiting for compensation. Many wished for nothing more than to get out of Germany and emigrate to Israel, but with the means, they were many of them forced to stay amongst neighbours who had turned a blind eye, or were still openly hostile; sometimes for as many as two decades before their compensation claims were verified (in no small part due to the Nazi regime attempting to destroy as much paper evidence of their crimes as possible as the end became apparent).

The most famous art installation here is the ‘Shalekhet’ – the Fallen Leaves, by Israeli artist, Menashe Kadishman . It is made from 10,000 faces punched out of steel plate and scattered around the ground of an area called the Memory Void. It is the only empty voided space in the Libeskind Building that you can enter. The work is dedicated to Jews killed during the Shoah, but also to all victims of war and violence. Visitors are invited to walk on the faces and listen to the sounds create by the metal faces as they clang and clank together which echoes through the void. It’s a very evocative installation.

After this we went to the the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I have been here before and found it very moving. Built on the former premises of the Gestapo, these stellae are grave like in their dimensions. It covers 19,000sqm and the stellae range from 1m to 4.5m in height as the ground below them undulates up and down. It’s a solemn and quiet space, though you can hear the sounds of the city in the distance.

Around the corner is the Brandenburger Tor. With the EuroCup road closures all over the place (useful to see how they have deployed the security and infrastructure etc), we were unable to get close to the Gate.

Enough walking around in the rain, we sought shelter in a local bakery only to find that it was closing, so then resorted to as Starbucks (Urgh!) only to back out when we realised we didn’t want to spend money at a Starbucks! 😛 So instead decided to call it a day and return to the hotel to get some more work done.